When He was Good
by Eve-the-Charlotte
Summary: Tenth in Witchblood-verse. Sam-centric, though contains Sam/Pietro.


_When He was Good _by _Eve-the-Charlotte_

Pairings: Sam/Pietro, with mentions of Pietro/Roberto, Sam/Jubilee, and Hank/Bobby.

Number ten in Witchblood-verse (hell yeah!) and my twenty-fifth story of ! Go me! Anyways, back from ego-world, I hope you enjoy this story!

Everyone always assumed Samuel Zachary Guthrie was good, even when he was a little boy. After all, the Guthrie's were good people, as good as good can be, so why wouldn't the latest addition to the Guthrie clan be just as good? Plus, he looked just like his big old daddy, so you knew he'd probably end up just like him, ain't that right, y'all?

But, even then, deep down, Sam hated being good. Well, not actually being good, but more of being expected to always do the right thing all the time and being everyone else's moral compass. While everyone else could screw up every once in a while and it wasn't such a big deal, Sam's mother acted like it was the end of the world if he even glared at one of his younger siblings. Which Sam never did believe was very fair, since he was the oldest of ten, and wasn't it only natural if he got mad at one of them once in a while? But Mrs. Guthrie always scolded her eldest child with a ferocity that was unlike her usual nature. She justified it, though, by saying it was in his best interests, and he had to be a good example to his little brothers and sisters, ya know?

Along with being good, Sam also had to make straight A's and participate on at least two school teams at the same time. His mother, after all, expected nothing but the best, the crème de la crème, from her angelic eldest son. And Lord help Sam if he should fail those expectations! The boy's only comfort was helping his father work in the mines. Only then did the young Guthrie ever feel like he could possibly not meet expectations, possibly not be good.

This all changed the day Sam's father died. Somebody didn't get the supports good enough, so when his father and a few fellow workers went deeper into that particular mineshaft, it simply collapsed on top of them.

The few years felt surreal to young Sam Guthrie, who now had to take up his father's shifts and work as many hours as he could in the mines. Yet another expectation thrusted upon him, but he could barely feel that one's weight on his shoulders. He was too numb, too dead inside. The only person in the whole wide world that didn't expect him to be anymore than Sam Guthrie, human being, was dead and buried six feet under.

Then, the day that changed everything occurred. And to think it started off so simply, with setting up supports and then to begin mining. But, as fate would have it, there was a cave-in in the mineshaft Sam was working in. He was so scared, so afraid that the cave ceiling would collapse on top of them, or that they would suffocate down in the shaft. He began to wildly smash his fists against the walls of stone that surrounded him. He then began to use his pickaxe to try to break through the rocks. This went on for unknown hours, until poor Sam Guthrie was almost too weak to move. He then slid down to the floor, shaking, he couldn't get out, but he had to get out, he couldn't die, he had to survive. He had to. Gathering up the last of his strength, he ran towards the wall at full speed, so delirious that he was going to use his head as a battering ram. Yet, for some strange reason, it worked! He was free, free as the birds in the sky!

Later reports from the other miners said that the boy looked as though rockets attached to his feet had propelled him through the air, allowing him to smash straight through solid stone. Yet, at the time, Sam Guthrie, the poor, yet respectable, hick from Cumberland County, Kentucky, had never felt more alive.

His mother, upon hearing what the miners were saying about her son, immediately made him stay in the barn, shouting about him being possessed like those freaks on the news. There, he was not allowed to talk or even go near his siblings, lest he hurt them, or, worse, make them become like him. For once, Sam truly wanted to be in the busy, breathtakingly fast-paced Guthrie house, to not be alone.

About a week later, a bald man in a wheelchair, accompanied by a short, burly man in a cowboy hat and boots, stopped by the Guthrie residence to talk to Sam. For the first few visits the men attempted, they were immediately shut out by the matriarch of the house. Yet, the seventh times the charm, apparently, because Mrs. Guthrie finally acquiesced and allowed them to talk to Sam. The first thing they said to him was to not be afraid. That moment would be stuck in Sam Z. Guthrie's memory for the rest of his life, the Professor telling him to not be afraid.

The man named Xavier quickly put Sam at ease, not even scaring him when he told him he was a mutant. Actually, Sam was rather relieved to find out he was a mutant. At least he knew what he was, even if it was synonymous to freak, monster, and all of those lovely terms. When the Professor offered him a place at a special school for gifted youngsters like Sam himself, the boy immediately jumped on that offer. Finally, a place where he wasn't Sam Guthrie, the son, the honors student, the athlete, the hard worker, where he could just be Sam Guthrie, the person.

However, even the rosiest of places has their thorns, as Sam soon discovered. He had to train daily with several other young mutants to learn to control his powers and to learn to work together with the other students as a team. It would have started to feel a lot like back in Kentucky, if it weren't for Bobby and Jubilee. They made him feel like a co-conspirator, a bad boy, and a best friend, all rolled into one package. He loved it.

Then, things began to shake. Mutants were outed, Bobby began to push himself to be an X-Man more and more, and he and Jubilee tried to be a couple, and promptly failed. Then Apokolyps happened and, afterwards, after Bobby was promoted to the alpha team and Jubilee began to swoon over Bobby, Sam never felt more alone. It was like Kentucky, but only worse. He was planning to run, when _he _stepped, or, rather, ran right into Sam Guthrie's life.

Pietro Maximoff just so happened to be at the Institute, walking along, minding his own business, supposedly, when Sam misjudged the trajectory of one of his blasts and ended up going right through the window the speedy boy was passing by, and crashed into him, glass shards and all. This caused them both to end up in the Institute's med bay, having to get glass shards picked out of some pretty embarrassing places. Sam thought that the Brotherhood boy would kill him for sure, slowly and painfully, when the guy turned to him and introduced himself. Sam did likewise, slightly confused. When he mentioned his utter confusion, Pietro merely smirked and said some utterly narcissistic thing that Sam couldn't help but laugh at. This seemed to be enough to make the quick boy happy, since he too smiled and laughed along with him.

Thus began the friendship of Pietro Django Maximoff and Samuel Zachary Guthrie. Unfortunately, it was not to last, as Pietro began to date Roberto, Ray's roommate, and the time the two boys spent together dwindled down to practically nothing. Sam was a little mad, but he was mostly heartbroken, since he did actually treasure the time he spent with the Speedy Gonzales. But, Bobby became a fixture in Sam's life once more, since he was demoted for "accidentally" icing a car which, as it later turned out, contained his mother and father. So, it was up to Sam to cheer up his old friend, but he had Mr. McCoy's help, so it was all right.

Unfortunately, Jubilee came back into their lives, this time not as a friend, at least, not to Sam. She was now constantly flirting with Bobby, so was not interested any more. This continued for some time, until Mr. McCoy finally shouted that he had had enough and smashed his lips to Bobby's. Sam cheered, but Jubilee cried and screamed and threw things and called them all horrible things. This incident left Mr. McCoy reputation practically in shreds, caused Bobby to sink into a deep depression, and made Sam even more of an outcast than he had been when he was depressed.

That was when Pietro whirled back into his life again, practically on his knees, begging for forgiveness for his being a horrible friend. Sam forgave him immediately, touched deep inside by the actual sincerity in the speedster's voice. Their friendship was instantly renewed.

Then, something happened. One night, Pietro was acting very quiet around Sam, for once. This, of course, set off warning bells in Sam's head. He asked Pietro what was wrong and if Sam could do anything for him, anything at all. Pietro just stared at him, then quickly crushed their lips together in a smoldering kiss. Sam's eyes first widened, then closed, caught up in the sensation.

This continued on for some time before Sam pulled away and asked why. Pietro simply smiled, a genuine, heartfelt smile, and kissed him again.

Truly, nowadays, Sam Guthrie had some rough times both behind him and ahead of him. He was no longer Sam Guthrie, the good one. But now he had a few friends and a truly excellent boyfriend, so he knew he was going to be all right.

That was really long, and, hopefully, it somewhat makes up for the lack of writing lately. Anyways, read and review!


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